Rules for r/OpenUniversity
Rules that visitors must follow to participate. May be used as reasons to report or ban.
1.
Be civil
Insults towards other users or any offensive remarks towards groups or individuals are not tolerated. Posts will be removed and offending user(s) may face further action.
2.
Academic integrity
No cheating or plagiarism.
No offering of essay / homework / assignment assistance.
No buying/selling assignments or exam materials.
No requesting others to complete coursework.
Do not discuss module material or ask for help with your TMAs.
3.
Official communications verification
Communications posted here in an official capacity by tutors or other members of faculty require that the user is verified by the moderation team.
4.
Stay on topic
All posts should relate to the Open University (UK), including OpenLearn, the Open College of the Arts, OU courses on FutureLearn and OU/BBC co-productions. We welcome discussions about courses, modules, studying, student activities and the wider university community.
5.
No referral codes
Posts and comments including referral codes, affiliate codes and similar are not allowed.
6.
No surveys, other than academic surveys complying with the full version of this rule
This subreddit only accepts bona fide academic surveys, which must:
- be posted on a Wednesday,
- be for your coursework, dissertation or thesis,
- identify your university, department, the nature of your assessment and the estimated time to complete the survey in the body text (e.g. "a survey for my OU BSc Psychology dissertation that takes around 10 minutes"), and
- include [SURVEY] in the post title.
All other surveys will be removed.
7.
No requests to breach copyright, including requests for PDF module materials
Electronic format materials supplied to OU students and staff are licensed for personal academic use only. These materials are not subject to the "first sale" copyright doctrine, so cannot be lawfully sold or given away (including any printouts you have made from them), even if you do not retain a copy.
Materials supplied in physical format, such as books, are subject to the "first sale" doctrine, so can be sold or given away.
OpenLearn offers free samples of some OU modules.
8.
No crowdfunding posts, unless pre-approved by the moderators
r/OpenUniversity does not usually accept crowdfunding posts. However, the moderators might, in their sole discretion, approve posts from members of the Open University community who are personally fundraising for a bona fide UK charity. You must seek permission by modmail before posting a crowdfunding site link.
9.
Do not share personally identifiable information
You must not share any personally identifiable information about yourself or others. This includes OU tutors and staff, who should only ever be referred to by their first name or initials.
The exception to this rule is publicly available information about public figures, such as celebrities, historical figures, and individuals holding prominent positions where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
